Jury: AEG Not Liable In Michael Jackson Death

LOS ANGELES -- A jury ruled Wednesday in favor of concert promoter AEG
Live, finding it was not liable in the death of singer Michael Jackson.

The
jury of six men and six women returned their verdict on the third full
day of deliberations after a bitterly contested trial that lasted five
months in a Los Angeles courtroom.

Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson's mother, brought the case against
AEG Live LLC, the giant concert promoter that was producing the
singer's comeback concerts, arguing that the promoter was negligent in
hiring the physician who administered the drug that killed him.

To reach a verdict, only nine of the 12 jurors needed to agree; A unanimous verdict was not required.

Jackson died in June 2009 of an overdose of the drug propofol, which is intended for use in surgery at hospitals.

Following a trial, Conrad Murray was found guilty in November 2011 of
involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death for giving the singer an
overdose of propofol as a sleep aid. Just who was responsible for hiring
Murray to take care of Jackson before his comeback concerts was at the
heart of the family's negligence claim.

The jury ruled that AEG
did hire Murray, but also ruled that Murray was not unfit or incompetent
to perform the job he was hired to do. Under a series of questions the
judge presented to the jury as a way of arriving at a verdict, that
finding led directly to a verdict in favor of the promoter.

"Michael Jackson was used to getting his way,'' juror Kevin Smith said outside the courthouse after the verdict.

"He could pretty much get what he wanted... Anybody that said 'no,' they were out of the mix and he'd find somebody else.''

Jackson's
lawyers depicted the company as being more concerned with the profits a
successful concert run could generate than the singer's well-being.

Brian Panish, lawyer for Jackson's mother, urged the jury to find
that defendant AEG Live LLC and Jackson shared responsibility for hiring
Murray, who is serving a prison sentence.

AEG Live contends it
was pressured by Jackson to hire Murray as his personal physician.
Attorneys for the promoter argued that Jackson and Murray deceived the
promoter by concealing that Jackson, who complained of chronic insomnia,
was receiving the anesthetic propofol nightly in his home as a sleep
aid.

Panish urged the jury to find that AEG hired Murray without considering whether he was fit for the job.

"Propofol might not be the best idea," Panish said. "But if you have a competent doctor, you're not going to die."

Panish
contended that AEG executives including CEO Randy Phillips and co-CEO
Paul Gongaware disdained Jackson and pointed to an e-mail in which an
AEG attorney referred to Jackson as "the freak."

"They're a money-making machine," Panish said. "All they care about is how much money is this freak going to make for them."

Both executives were initially named as defendants but were dismissed from the case during the trial.

Panish showed jurors details of a contract that was drafted by AEG
Live but only signed by Murray. He said it proved that AEG wanted to
control the doctor.

AEG Live attorney Marvin Putnam told jurors
that Jackson insisted on hiring Murray despite objections from AEG Live.
The company told Jackson there were great doctors in London, where his
concerts would be held, but the singer insisted, Putnam said.

"It was his money and he certainly wasn't going to take no for an answer," he said.

AEG attorneys showed the jury excerpts from the documentary film about the failed Jackson comeback, This Is It, to demonstrate that Jackson appeared in top form just 12 hours before he died.

"AEG
Live did not have a crystal ball," Putnam said. "Dr. Murray and Mr.
Jackson fooled everyone. They want to blame AEG for something no one
saw."

He contended AEG would have pulled the plug on the concerts had it been aware Jackson was receiving the powerful drug.

"AEG would have never agreed to finance this tour if they knew Mr.
Jackson was playing Russian roulette in his bedroom every night," Putnam
told jurors.

Panish said AEG should pay $85 million in personal
damages to each of Michael Jackson's three children, and $35 million to
the singer's mother.

But potential economic damages could be
larger. Attorneys for the Jackson family argued that had he lived, the
singer could have made as much as $1.5 billion from the concerts, music,
endorsements and related revenue streams.

Putnam, the AEG
attorney, dismissed those calculations and presented expert testimony
putting economic damages far lower, at close to $21 million. AEG also
presented testimony showing Jackson had a history of erratic behavior
and canceled shows.